What Not to Wear

This weekend I had a great conversation with my sister about what not to wear, the tv show. Then when I returned, I found this wonderful newsletter article from www.individuallysuited.com. I thought it was appropriate to share on my blog. "What is your Uniform? The word uniform is from Latin unis and formus meaning one form. The original purpose of the uniform was for soldiers to be able to identify friend from foe. Today uniforms extend beyond the military to various businesses and often private schools and are used for identification as well. Each of us can create our own uniform or brand if we so desire. We all recognize the uniforms of the UPS driver, our favorite sports teams, police officers and the post office, to mention a few. The rest of us have "informal" uniforms which send signals to those around us. So what does your dress signify? Since the dot-com era, casual dress has become common in the workplace. Today in many companies, it is difficult to distinguish the executives from the mailroom staff. The goal of informality in the workplace was to make workers more comfortable, and therefore happier and more productive. The actual result might be debated to be the opposite. Studies have shown that casual dress can reduce individual productivity. Comfort is important, but where is the line drawn between casual and sloppy? Many companies are encouraging their employees to sharpen up their dress because it reflects on the organization. Even with the widespread casualization in the workplace, people still associate dress with position and power. We received an email from a reader who shared an interesting story. He used to travel extensively in casual clothes. On one trip, he did not have time to change clothes for an important meeting, so he traveled in his business attire. When there was a problem with an airline connection, he noticed that he got very courteous and special treatment from the airline employees while the other travelers didn't fare so well. The contrast was so striking that whenever he travels he always wears his formal business attire. He gets much better service from the airline, rental car, hotel and restaurant employees. Even though they don't know who he is, because he is dressed like an important person he is always treated with respect and courtesy. So when you get dressed, think about the treatment you want and image you want to portray. If you dress like you mean business, people will generally treat you with respect and dignity. Dress like you're ready for leisure and people might not take you very seriously. So where does the uniform come in? Your daily dress sends a message of how you feel about yourself and how others view you and your roles. Be certain to be consistent with your message and image. (Marketers know that consistency is the key to branding. It takes time to establish a brand - especially a visual one. If you are consistent in your dress from day to day and if your dress is consistent with your role and your personal image, people will begin to treat you the way you want them to. It may take time, but the results will be well worth the bit of extra effort that you put into dressing for the job." www.sewingbymaudy.com Specializing in proper fit, alterations and tailoring 440-967-8799